Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev and emigrated with her family to Milwaukee as a child. She joined Poalei Tzion in High School and together with her husband Morris Myerson, moved to Mandatory Palestine at age 23. Meir worked as a bookkeeper and then as Secretary of the Women Laborers Council. She went back to America as Secretary of the women’s organization “Pioneer Women” from 1932-1934. When the British Mandate Authorities imprisoned Moshe Sharett in 1946 she was appointed to replace him as Head of the Jewish Agency’s Political Department. Before the establishment of the State she met with King Abdullah I of Jordan asking him not to attack Israel, then went back to America to raise funds for the inevitable War of Independence. She raised $50,000,000 from American Jewry. In 1948 she served briefly as the first Israeli Ambassador to the Soviet Union but returned soon afterwards and was elected to the Knesset where she worked on behalf of laborers and immigrants. From 1956 she served as Foreign Minister forging ties with emerging African countries over the next decade. In 1969 Golda Meir replaced Levi Eshkol as Prime Minister. Her efforts went to cementing ties with the US and fighting terrorism. Under her watch, Israel was taken by surprise by Egyptian attack starting the 1973 Yom Kippur War which claimed up to 2,800 lives, wounding close to 9,000 more. She resigned soon afterwards, but was absolved of wrongdoing, having decided against a pre-emptive strike which would have meant the loss of US support.